Beyond the Looking Glass
by thequillofdestiny
Summary: Four years ago Stan and Kyle had a falling out. But when Kenny goes on a quest to figure out his sexuality, he and Butters begin to realize that the two ex-super best friends haven't been telling the truth about what really happened. Butters x Kenny
1. Different

**More in-depth Summary: **Kyle and Stan have not been best friends for four years because of one huge fight back in eighth grade. Things seem to be going fine though: Stan had the guys to hang out with, and Kyle. . .well he had the girls. (Long story) But when Kenny finds himself in a sexuality crisis and needs Kyle's help, he begins to discover that Kyle and Stan haven't been telling the full truth. And with Butters' help, he just might be able to figure out what the hell _really_ happened to make such a perfect friendship crumble. Pairings: Butters x Kenny, Kyle x I have no idea yet, and a small bit of Pip x Damien.

**Main Characters:** I couldn't decide since I have a lot of characters, but I suppose it's mainly Kyle, Stan, Kenny, Butters, Wendy, and Bebe

**Disclaimer: **Luckily for the residents of South Park I do not own them. If I did. . .well let's just say there would be a lot of residents committing suicide in order to avoid me writing something about them. :)

**Warning: **Swearing, Some Mature Themes, and Slash Later On. Don't like slash? Don't read my story.

**Rating: **T; but subject to change

**Quick Thing to Note: **When something is italics for a very long time, it is either a flashback, a dream, or a combination of both.

* * *

**Wendy's POV:**

If someone had told me seven or eight years ago that I would be Kyle Broflovski's best friend, I would have laughed at them right in their face and asked them what type of crack they had been smoking. Yet here I was at age seventeen, rolling my eyes in perfect synchronization with him as Bebe chatted on about meaningless petty gossip.

The idea of Kyle Broflovski being any type of friend to me when I was younger seemed to exist in the realm of the impossible. It was not that I hated Kyle or that he hated me, rather we hated the fact of how much time the other spent with a certain boy by the name of Stan Marsh. Stan had been my boyfriend, and Kyle's best friend, so there was a mutual resentment we shared with one another when it came to the lines of jealousy. Albeit a different type of jealousy, but regardless it was still envy of the shallowest sort.

To be perfectly honest, the reason Kyle and I were now best friends was 95.9% Cartman' s fault, 3% Stan's, 1% Kyle's and 0.01% mine. Okay, maybe the percentage concerning Kyle and me should be switched, but still it was mostly Cartman's fault. Actually the whole affair had started out as one of Cartman's 'rid the world of Kyle' schemes, which he tried to execute on a weekly basis.

Cartman was obviously also a slave to jealousy, and despised the relationship between Stan and Kyle. Which is why he pretty much fucked it up by showing Stan notes Kyle had written about having a very intense crush on me. At the time we were all thirteen, and Stan and I had been dating once again since fourth grade. Age aside, Stan was a very gullible and possessive person, so he did not carefully examine the notes. If he had he might have noticed just how utterly retarded they were and realized that Kyle wanted nothing to do with me.

Coming from an ever so _slightly_ biased point of view, Stan was an absolute dick. It's amazing how thirteen years of strong friendship can be dissolved by one fat, racist, manipulative asshole. The worst part was that Stan never actually went up to Kyle and told him he was angry at him, he just avoided him at all costs and for all intents and purposes, acted as if Kyle did not exist. Pretty much the whole eighth grade followed suit except for Butters, who was too naïve to realize that Kyle was being 'shunned'.

But Kyle realized it, and by the third day of his shunning was not even attempting to talk to any one of his old acquaintances or friends. I will reluctantly admit that at first I was pleased with this new development since I had more Stan time, but then my conscience kicked in, and I confronted Stan about what the hell was going on.

Subtly was never my forte, so I simply plopped on down next to Stan during study period and bluntly asked, "What the hell is going on with you and Kyle?"

Looking back, I must say with some bemusement that his whole face left the red color spectrum. He seemed hesitant to admit what was going on between his best friend and himself, which I suppose is perfectly reasonable had the aforementioned been true. But the fact was it was all lies planted by Eric Cartman, and Stan was easily deterred by it. To this day I haven't figured out why. Was it because Stan was a little jealous of Kyle thinking that maybe I preferred Kyle's company to his own? Or perhaps he was just uncertain about our relationship, and let the seed Cartman planted in his mind grow to its full capacity.

"Well. . .it. . .err, Kyle. . .he kind of has a. . .sort of crush on you." Stan muttered under his breath.

The idea that Kyle Broflovski, my arch rival for Stan's attention, liked me made my nose give out an involuntary snort. Was I the only teenager in South Park who noticed the callous sparks that would fly whenever we were around each other?! Smiling lightly at him, I squeezed his shoulder reassuringly. "I hardly doubt that's the case." Stan did not look so convinced, so I quickly pecked him on the cheek, and marched over purposefully to my best friend Bebe.

"What's up?" She had asked me, giving me the most innocent smile she could manage.

I then proceeded to tell her what I knew, and she glanced over at Kyle rather thoughtfully.

"I guess it's possible, but---and no offense Wendy---Kyle is the most loyal kid I know. I don't think he'd even _ogle _you if you walked right by him." Bebe shuddered as if not ogling a crush was one of the worst sins imaginable. "Wendy, I don't know about you, but I want to find out the truth from Kyle himself."

Somehow I don't think at the time she was as interested in figuring out the truth behind the whole ordeal as she was in getting a closer look to what she calls 'Kyle's incredibly sexy ass', but that's neither here nor there. The point was that at lunch time instead of going over to our respective table, we marched over to where Kyle was sitting all alone, munching on his food somberly.

Bebe plopped on down on the bench while I situated myself with a little more debonair. Kyle looked up at the two of us and rolled his eyes. Not that I blame him, if I had been in his situation I don't think I would have been to happy to see me either.

If people considered me impatient, they had never dealt with Bebe, who simply without tact blurted out, "Do you have a crush on Wendy?"

Kyle snickered a bit before responding, "No. Sorry to break it to you, but it's not even in the realm of--" He broke off suddenly shaking his head.

Now I was intrigued. I wasn't the only one who caught his little slip-up. "What were you going to say?" Bebe demanded.

His eyes flickered nervously and he looked at the two of us pleadingly. Never before had I seen Kyle Broflovski look so scared and troubled. It broke my heart, and I let any old feelings of amnesty between us evaporate. "You can tell us Kyle, we promise to keep it a secret." I whispered.

He sighed. "Why I'm telling you this I'll never know, but. . .I don't quite play for the same 'team' you guys do."

"You're gay?!" Bebe gasped under her breath.

"Not so loud!" Kyle hissed back. "Look. . .I'm just not ready to tell the guys yet, and so I figured that I'll just let this blow over. If Stan's still avoiding me by the next week, I'll tell him." He ran his fingers along the table.

"Why don't you come sit with us?" I asked suddenly.

Kyle looked up at me liked I was a moron, "Oh yeah, that'll definitely prevent people from thinking I'm gay yet."

Bebe however, loved the idea and wasn't taking no for an answer. "Oh no Kyle, we're keeping your secret, so you're coming to sit with us. We can't leave some one as adorable as you alone to be so like, sad. It's not good for your chi."

She then dragged Kyle over to our table with my help, and I guess things just moved forward from there.

The thing was, when you removed Stan from the equation, Kyle and I were the perfect best friends. We were both carbon copies of the other. Both of us had overbearing feminist moms, dad's who pushed our grades, the only blood offspring of the family (I was an only child, Kyle had an adopted sibling), we both were over-achievers and pretty nerdy, and we both had a great sense of sarcasm and utter loathing for the being known as Eric Cartman.

This is where my fault comes into play. I suppose hanging out with Kyle did not really help the situation Cartman had created in making it look like he was in love with me. But the fact of the matter was that the girls we sat with loved Kyle, and him being gay just made them squeal more. He was the first known gay guy in the school to us, and so he was fascinating. Park County Middle School merged all the counties, so the group I sat with wasn't all South Park. Yet we all loved Kyle and were a bit. . .over-protective of him.

We were a weird bunch (and we still are). There was me and Bebe obviously, but there was also Red and Heidi. For some reason these two were best friends, though they constantly would leave a snide comment about the other. Then there was Anne, who was sort of just there. She was pretty much the example of an average girl, but if there was anyone she latched herself onto it was Millie. Millie was the more outgoing of us, and she had actually dragged into our group the three Raisins girls Mercedes, Lexus, and Porsche. Porsche was a prime example of you didn't have to be blonde to be an air head, but she was also very kind-hearted. Lexus on the other hand was more harsh of people and kept grudges. Her kindness was mostly an act, though I heard if you got on her good side (like Kyle did) than you never had to worry about her. Mercedes was probably the most interesting of all in our group of ten if you included Kyle---which we did, probably a little too much but oh well---because she was observant. Somehow she always noticed what was going on, and that girl was smart. Cunning too, but she hid it well. I was one of the few people who knew just how smart she was because she was in all my AP classes with Kyle. Out of all of us, she was probably the most over-protective of him, and everyone knew on campus that you didn't fuck with Mercedes.

Cartman noticed our feelings towards Kyle, and used it to his advantage. He apparently (according to later accounts) told Stan he had caught me and Kyle making out, which did not bode well with my boyfriend at all. And that was why four days later when school came out Stan walked over to Kyle, yelled at him for 'making a move on me' before finally giving him one punch to the face.

In Kyle's defense, he did not punch back. Stan's punch wouldn't even leave a bruise, well at least one that showed. I don't think he ever meant to though, I think he just wanted to leave a bruise on Kyle's heart. If that was the case he definitely succeeded. The whole school watched when he attacked his best friend, including me and the girls. All of us were ready to kill Stan, but Kyle got to it first.

He did not use violence. Instead he used the most biting words I think anyone of us have ever heard him spoken. Words that were even harsher than what he normally dosed out to Cartman. "Yeah Stan, I kissed Wendy. You know why that fact's impossible besides the point that she's your girlfriend? BECAUSE I'M FUCKING GAY! I was hoping to tell you under better circumstances, but I hope you're happy now asshole." Kyle than stormed over to Cartman. "And YOU! This is mostly your fault! If it wasn't for your stupid fucking rumors, I wouldn't have had to become EX-best friends with Stan!" Swiftly he punched Cartman in the gut, and stormed off away from the school where all the boys and other grades that had come to watch stood stunned.

I'm pretty sure Stan had figured out we were over, but Bebe being the drama queen that she was (and still is) flounced over and hissed to him, "Great job Stan. You've not only lost your girlfriend, but your best friend as well." Bebe then walked over to us, and we all left to go in search of Kyle and comfort him.

School the next day was weird. Stan didn't look upset and Cartman was still part of their group. It would only be months later that I realized all of them just pretended to forget what had happened. Some of the boys when they would date us girls in the future would say a friendly 'hi' towards Kyle (we never dated Stan, Kenny, or Cartman though), but it was nothing more than that. And Kyle would be civil back, but at least he didn't make them feel uncomfortable. He really didn't change at all except that he now had to use product to tame his curls. But he still wore the same type of clothes albeit designer ones, and he still had the same attitude. The only thing different with gay Kyle was that he now hung out with us, but that had nothing to do with his sexuality.

"Okay here's the big question Wendy: ugg slippers or flip-flops decorated with balloons?" Bebe gushed on another one of her 'shoe vs. shoe' rampages.

Kyle and I shared a glance and raised one eyebrow. I turned my attention back to Bebe and said, "We live in Colorado. Since when are flip-flops even a plausible idea?"

Bebe glared at me haughtily, "God Wendy do you have to ruin everything?"

"I hate to interrupt your endearing conversation, but we have company coming." Mercedes pointed out, sliding a little closer to Kyle.

I looked up to see who it was, and then growled before sliding nearer to Kyle too and letting my shoulder blade partially block him. Ever since Kyle had left his old group he had much more patience and less anger issues. Nobody in school ever bothered him about his sexuality to his face at least because he could still beat any one of them up if he wanted too. Yet for some reason us girls still felt the need to shield Kyle from potential trouble, which was exactly what was heading toward us: Kenny McKormick.

Kyle never saw any of his old best friends up close: ever. He was in all AP classes and they weren't. When it came to electives he chose things they didn't. And while he chose Latin they chose Spanish. Well except for Kenny, who took French with me and Mercedes.

Kenny McKormick wasn't the worst person who could bother Kyle, but he certainly wasn't a help. He was a pervert plain and simple, and while we allowed him to hit on us, it always had to be when Kyle wasn't around. (Which basically meant that he could never hit on us all at once) I will admit that he was gorgeous when it came to looks, and he wasn't that bad a guy either: Kenny had some fine charisma. But we held a grudge against him for not standing up for Kyle when he knew what they were doing was wrong. Then again none of the boys did, but he was supposed to be one of Kyle's close friends.

He finally reached our table and Kyle looked up from his book slowly to face me. "Hey what's---oh." he muttered finally noticing Kenny. His normally cheerful expression tightened the slightest bit and he smiled grimly at his former companion.

"What do you want Kenny?" Bebe asked coldly, though we all knew if Kyle hadn't been around she would've done him in a second. Bebe wasn't a slut, but she did have a thing for other blondes.

"Relax Bebe, Kenny means no harm. . .this time." Mercedes interjected, and we all relaxed our protective stances a little bit. All except me. While I normally trusted Mercedes judgment I still shot Kenny a wary look, I being the second biggest grudge holder besides Lexus.

"I just need to talk to Kyle for a minute." he said softly.

Kyle gave me a look to release my hostile posture and I did so reluctantly. "I won't be long." he promised us, before getting up and nodding to Kenny to head out into the hallway with him. As Kenny went to follow him Mercedes---whom was at the end of the table---grabbed his arm and looked at him menacingly.

"Don't mention Stan." she snarled, and then let him go. Kenny nodded solemnly and finally went out to join Kyle.

None of us spoke for a little while, before I finally looked towards Mercedes thoughtfully. "How do you know his intentions are good?"

She gave me a smirk, "Just trust me on this one, Kyle's fine." Mercedes then relinquished a small little sigh, "We're going to have to start to let him go a little bit. He needs to find the balance between hanging out with guys and us girls, it's not healthy for him to spend all his time with us."

Bebe and I shared a frown while the rest of the girls went back to chatting slowly. "Can _you_ let him go Wendy, he's your best friend." Bebe said this without a trace of jealousy since she knew that I considered her to be my other best friend.

I looked at her honestly, "I don't know Bee, I don't know."

**Kenny's POV:**

"Ey Kenneh! Kenneh look at me when I'm talking to you!" whined Eric Cartman as he began to poke me with his spork. I sighed and flipped him off before resuming my contemplation. I was about to do something that Stan would definitely not approve of. Mentioning Kyle's name was taboo. . .not even _Cartman_ did it. . .but talking to him? Jesus was I screwed.

Stan and I had not become best friends when he kicked Kyle out of the picture. If anything we had become a little more distant. Kyle and I had always been closer. Hell when I was eleven I began to sleep over at his house everyday. When midnight would fall and my whole family was out cold I would sneak in through Kyle's window and sleep on his floor. His mother never hated my presence, in fact she always stated she'd rather have me there with them instead of in my home which in its later years had lost the little precious heating it had previously managed to attain. When I turned my back on Kyle, I never tried to make things right. See, I'd been a little jealous of him at the time, and I figured the whole Wendy thing would blow over. And when it didn't I felt guilty, like he'd be better off without me, so I stayed away in my freezing cold home and let Kyle enjoy the home comforts he had to himself.

But the fact was that now I needed Kyle. Recent circumstances that were out of my control left him to be the only person I could turn too, and no, Stan would not be pleased with this.

Stan had changed a lot since he ditched Kyle. He was much more careful now and could never keep a girl for longer than six months. After Kyle was gone we'd kind of merged into one big group that consisted of me, Cartman, Stan, Token, Clyde, Tweek, Craig, and on the every now and then occasion: Butters. I don't believe Stan ever got a new best friend, but he hung out with us all equally in the group (minus Butters of course) so it didn't really seem to matter. Yet I missed the Jew with his quirky traits, and I would find myself often wishing I had done the right thing all those years ago. It would certainly make the situation I was trapped in now much easier.

Well, it was now or never. Slowly I stood up and Stan who was sitting on my right raised one eyebrow. "Where you going Kenny?" he asked lightly.

"To talk to Kyle." I replied, and he instantly stiffened. All chatter at our table vanished and everybody looked at me like I had unleashed a death wish. Stan's fingers tightened and his expression was darkened. Cartman was the only one who appeared like he was about to laugh.

"Oh Jesus! This is way too much pressure!" Tweek shrieked, and for once he was right. It _was_ too much pressure. But it was also something I had to do.

I walked away slowly and headed towards the girls' table where I saw Kyle engrossed in a novel. He didn't look different save for the fact his hair was no longer a huge Jewfro. As I headed closer and closer towards my destination the girls stopped chatting and began to all move closer to Kyle as if I had come to rape him or something. When I finally reached the table the tension was so thick it eventually drew Kyle out of his book. He looked over to Wendy perplexed and asked, "Hey, what's---oh." he said, finally catching my eye. I cringed inwardly as his expression hardened ever so little. Kyle might not be one to hold on to grudges forever, but I wouldn't blame him for keeping hold of this one.

"What do you want Kenny?" Bebe asked my thinly.

"Relax Bebe. Kenny means no harm. . .this time." Mercedes said carefully. I shivered slightly. Mercedes had the kind of look that pierced right through your soul. All the girls at the table listened to her command except for Wendy who if anything moved even closer.

"I just need to talk to Kyle for a minute." I said lamely, letting my gaze rest back on Kyle.

Kyle said something I couldn't hear to Wendy and gave her a certain look. Apparently she obliged to whatever he said because he was able to get out and cock his head in the direction he wanted me to follow. I was about to leave when Mercedes suddenly snatched my hand in a vice-like grip, "Don't mention Stan." she spat.

I nodded but inside I was reeling. Did they all think I was fucking retarded?! No way was I here to even mention Stan. I followed Kyle out and he turned around to face me coldly. "What do you want Kenny?"

I flinched. The last time we had spoke we had become good enough friends that he could call me 'Ken' but now we were back to square one. Actually we were probably at negative square one if there was such a thing. "Look, I know that you don't consider yourself a person I go to for advice. . .but I think I might be gay. . .or at least bi."

His cold look melted instantly to one of empathy. Fuck. Stupid Kyle was able to make me feel guiltier than I already did. He just had to go and be all nice to me when I didn't deserve it. "Oh." he simply stated.

"Yeah, and I kind of need some advice."

"Who do you like?" he sighed, leaning back against the wall.

I looked at him incredulously, "How---"

Kyle rolled his eyes, "When you hang out around a bunch of girls who have nothing better to do than observe everyone around them and gossip you sort of learn how to pick up on things."

Wincing I tried to muster a smile. There was that damn guilt again. "Butters." I mouthed.

To his credit he didn't laugh or turn me away, instead he told me, "Okay. So what do you plan to do now?"

"Now?" I asked confused.

Kyle sighed. "Yes _now_. You see Butters everyday and it might eventually slip out. So you either have to tell him or try to confide in something like a journal until the crush passes. . .if it passes."

Burying my face in my hands I groaned, "This situation I'm in is hopeless."

"No it isn't. Listen I have to get back to lunch or else Wendy will pull up a search party, but if you need to talk to me again you know where I live." He replied softly, starting to leave.

"Wait!" Kyle paused and turned around. "Thanks. . .and I'm sorry about---"

Kyle immediately went rigid and just shook his head, "Don't even Kenny." He then stormed off and I sighed heading back to my table. Stan had moved to sit down next to Token and refused to look me in the eye. He didn't even make eye contact with me the whole day until school went out when he dragged me aside behind the building.

"What the fuck man?!" He spat at me, pinning me up against the wall.

"It's none of your business. I just needed some advice from Kyle, Stan."

"We made a silent pact that we would ignore him, you know that Kenny!" Stan growled at me, his voice cracking a bit near the end.

I gave him a hard glare, "No Stan, I'm not going to be a part of this whole 'shunning Kyle' thing any longer. I screwed up when I didn't speak up all those years ago. Do you really think all the other kids would have taken your side if they knew who you'd gotten the information from? I should have said something, but I didn't because I was jealous. Face it Stan: we were both assholes to him." My gaze softened a little as I tried to comfort him a bit, "Look, I know that was hard for you because Cartman was cunning. . .he hit you at a weak point and he's good at faking handwriting. Plus I don't think you ever really meant to stop being friends with Kyle, you just needed some time to cool off---"

"JUST SHUT UP!" Stan yelled fiercely letting go of my jacket and jamming his hands in his pockets. I winced. Apparently I had hit a little to close to home there. "I don't want to talk to you right now anymore Kenny." He then stomped off, obviously not attaining whatever sort of closure he was hoping to achieve by screaming at me.

I thought I could finally go home since I had to prepare for the party Token was throwing at seven, but then I was accosted once again, this time by Mercedes, Lexus, and Porsche. Mercedes was pissed, a sight I am not ashamed to say scared me, and she waved off her girlfriends so we could be alone for a little while.

"You tried to _apologize _to him!" she hissed.

"Hey I was just trying to thank him for being so nice, and I figured an apology---"

"No offense Kenny, but he doesn't want to hear the apology from you." Mercedes snapped. "You're screwing everything up McKormick, so get your ass in line and play nice with Kyle. Just let him help you and don't even bring up the incident unless he talks about it first, got it?!"

I cringed at the intensity of her words. Mercedes was not a violent girl. . .usually. But there was no doubt that she looked like she was ready to kill, and I was in the closest vicinity.

In defeat I raised up my two hands, "Okay, I'll back off. But what exactly am I screwing up?"

Like the bi-polar chick I suspected she was, Mercedes' mood quickly changed back to that of an innocent little girl. "Oh you'll find out in due time Kenny. Meanwhile you just have to play your role and not fuck up. This is your first warning. Now I've got to run Ken-doll, Wendy's throwing a massive sleep-over and punctuality really counts for things these days." She then skipped off to her two companions and together they walked off.

As I strolled home to prepare, I began to wonder if girls were just genetically programed to be confusing.

**Kyle's POV:**

"No."

"Aw, come on. . ._please_?"

"Bebe for the last time no!" I shouted at her exasperated. Wendy gave me a sympathetic squeeze on the shoulder as she went back to preparing the basement for the party that was soon to happen. Bebe was supposed to be helping us, but instead she was spending her time pestering me about what Kenny had said.

"Kyleeeee!"

"Bee, if I was really going to tell you what Kenny said I would have done so when you first asked me three and a half hours ago during lunch." I retorted.

She seemed to ponder the logic in my statement before replying with a raspberry. Don't get me wrong here: Bebe was intelligent. It's just that when it came down to comebacks she could get rather childish. . .but I'm not one who should talk.

"Come on now Bebe, give the poor boy some rest. He seems so exhausted." Wendy chided, trying her best to not burst out into giggles at Bebe's five year old routine.

I sent her a withering glare and laid down on her basement couch, rubbing my temples methodically. I definitely sensed a migraine coming on. For her credit in the best friend category Wendy noticed this and told Bebe to hush so I could sleep. Not that I planned on actually falling asleep, but I suppose my eyelids were kind of droopy and. . . . . .

_It was the tension that finally brought my gaze up from my book over to Wendy._

_"Hey what's---oh." I said stiffly finally noticing the uncomfortable figure of Kenny McKormick._

_"What do you want Kenny?" Bebe ordered coldly, although I could tell she was resisting the urge to make out with him. It was then I noticed that all the other girls were huddled around me in a protective sort of way, Wendy especially. Her shoulder was practically digging into my ribcage with the angle she had thrust herself in. This annoyed me somewhat. I was a big boy, and I could take care of myself. Besides it wasn't like Kenny was going to rape me or anything._

_"Relax girls. He means no harm. . .this time." Mercedes interjected somewhat lightly. Instantly the hostility shrank and all the girls resumed their original relaxed positions. All except for Wendy of course, who made her move to protect me even more profound._

_"I just need to talk to Kyle for a minute." he whispered staring down at his shoes before meeting my eyes._

_There seemed to be a sort of desperation in them I didn't ever remember being there before, so I gave Wendy a 'knock-it-off' look, and she complied, albeit unhappily. "I won't be long." I promised before cocking my head towards the hallway. Standing up slowly I walked over there and waited. It took a few moments before Kenny finally came out._

_Warily I fixed him with one of my coldest expressions. "What do you want Kenny?"_

_He gulped. "Look," he began, "I know you don't consider yourself someone I go to for advice. . .but I think I might be gay. . .or at least bi." Kenny concluded thoughtfully._

_All at once my cool look melted. This was Kenny we were talking about and I could never stay mad at him, especially since he had always kept up his end of that one bargain. Besides, if he really was having a sexuality crisis I was pretty much the only person he could confide in. "Oh." I managed._

_"Yeah, and I kind of need some advice."_

_There was something about the way that he worded that last statement that drew me to what I sighed out next, "Who do you like?"_

_"How---"_

_"__When you hang out around a bunch of girls who have nothing better to do than observe everyone around them and gossip you sort of learn how to pick up on things." I replied. He flinched again at that. I supposed I made him feel a bit guilty for abandoning me, but that was his prerogative, not mine._

_"Butters." Kenny mouthed._

_That was a shocker, I thought sarcastically. Resisting the urge to rub my temples I continued with my assessment, "Okay. So what do you plan to do now?"_

_"Now?" he asked confused._

_I couldn't help it, I sighed again.__"Yes now. You see Butters everyday and it might eventually slip out. So you either have to tell him or try to confide in something like a journal until the crush passes. . .if it passes."_

_Kenny buried his face in his hands and moaned. "This situation I'm in is hopeless."_

_"No it isn't. Listen I have to get back to lunch or else Wendy will pull up a search party," which was pretty much true, honestly at times she seemed like my mother, " but if you need to talk to me again you know where I live." Satisfied that our little encounter was over, I began to turn away._

_"Wait!" I paused and turned around. "Thanks. . .and I'm sorry about---"_

_I immediately went rigid and just shook my head, "Don't even Kenny." Furiously I stormed back off into the cafeteria. He had NO right. No right to even think about apologizing for what he let _him _do to me. _

"Ky, _Ky_, KY!" Wendy shouted, gripping my shoulders worriedly.

I tried to sit up straight in shock, but something held me back against a comfortable surface. Opening my eyes a fraction, I noticed that it was Wendy's sheets and lavender duvet bed cover that were holding me hostage. It was then that it hit me: I had been sleeping in Wendy's bed.

"What the hell am I doing up here?" I demanded, trying to twist free to no avail.

Wendy sighed and helped me shirk out of the covers. "Honestly Ky. It's six o'clock. All of the girls are here, and they're all on the cheerleading squad." She winced with me a bit. Suffice it to say Wendy and I were not the biggest fans of pep-rallies or cheerleading. "It's not hard to lift a light-weight guy like you up two stories when they can build a pyramid of each other."

Earnestly I shot her a scowl. Okay, I'll admit that 5"7" _and a half!_ was kind of short for a guy, but I was sort of athletic. Just because I wasn't the best player when it came the sports didn't mean I was bad. Because really I wasn't, I was just pretty average. As for weight, well I won't even try to defend that.

"Whatever." I muttered, allowing myself to stretch out on top of the sheets.

Wendy sat down on her messy bed (courtesy of _moi_) and gave me a probing glance, "Ky. . .what did Kenny say to make you so. . .somber? Mercedes seems to know, but she won't tell me---and it's okay if you don't want to say so either. I just. . .want you to know that I'm here for you. You know that right?"

Her tone was soft, and her words were kind, but I'd made a silent promise to Kenny not to tell anyone about his sexuality. As for Mercedes, well she was up to something, but then again she was _always_ up to something. "I can't Wendy, I made a promise to Kenny. All I can tell you is that I got mad at him because after we finished talking he tried to apologize." I replied warily.

Instantly Wendy groaned, "So? What's wrong with him admitting he was a complete dick to you?"

"Because he's not the one I want to hear it from!"

Before Wendy could press further on the matter, the doorbell rang and suddenly two girls were rushing up the stairs and into the room. Next thing I knew, Heidi and Red were dragging me down the steps and into the basement where all the other party guests had been waiting for me.

"Sorry to wake you up Ky, but we've been letting you sleep for two hours! And now that Red and Heidi are back from the video store we can get this party started!" Lexus squealed.

Sleep-overs with the girls were a lot of fun, but they were also pretty fucking scary. Especially when both Heidi and Red were PMSing, and Porsche was asking you how to pull open a door with the words 'push-in' written on it.

But the worst part was getting drafted into Truth or Dare. Always go for dare because let me tell you: girls get really nasty when it comes to the truth part. The girls all settled down (with the exception of Heidi and Red who were forcibly separated so Bitch Fight version 2.0 never became a reality) and Bebe launched off the game. Of course being Bebe, she started off her questioning with yours truly. Like I didn't see _that_ one coming.

"Truth or Dare Kyle?" she asked sweetly. Too sweetly.

I snorted, "What do you think Sherlock? Dare of course."

Her grin was wicked, "Fine. I dare you to tell us what went down with Kenny."

The smirk was immediately wiped off my face. "That's a cop-out for truth!" I protested.

"So? You still have to answer. It's a dare." Bebe responded smugly.

"Oh leave him alone Bebe, he made a promise to Kenny." Mercedes intervened. She stood up and walked over to my bewildered form, and then yanked me up towards the upstairs. Wendy made a move to follow us but Bebe held her back.

Once we were alone in the living room I stared sharply at my 'savior', "What the hell are you planning Mercedes?!"

She said nothing for a little while, staring idly at her nails, before she finally spoke, "I don't know Kenny's secret, and to be perfectly honest I don't really give a rat's ass." Suddenly she gave me one of her soul-piercing looks that she was so famous for, and I felt an involuntary shiver race down my spine. "Are you truly happy Kyle?" she asked slowly, switching gears.

"Yes. . .?" I sputtered, perplexed at the sudden shift in the conversation's topic.

Mercedes looked at me carefully, "Don't lie to yourself Ky." And then she was gone, swooping deftly down the stairs, each lilting step she took seeming to be other-worldly.

Girls, I decided, were fucking crazy.

* * *

**A Not-so-brief Author's Note:**

**I apologize profusely if I have made Stan seem like an asshole here, he isn't really. I won't dwell too much on that though because it will ruin the plot line. Cartman on the other hand is an asshole, but that mostly stems from jealousy at the strong bond Stan and Kyle had shared. So don't be too harsh on him. After all, he's only a fat, manipulative, racist, psychopath right? xD Now as for Mercedes. . .what can I say about her. That fanfiction Short Stories with Tragic Endings by Faery Goddess really made me look to Mercedes' as someone not to trifle with, someone to observant for their own good. Unfortunately I can't write from her perspective because it would definitely ruin the story. Since this is my first 'posted' fanfiction, I am a little nervous. Which is why even though I have a few other chapters written out, I won't post them just yet. Sorry for the random babbling here at the end, but thanks for taking the time to even read this.**

**One last thing: I have no idea yet if I should end up making the pairing Kyle x Stan, so views on that would be appreciated.  
**

**~Smurf (My friends give me the weirdest nicknames o.O")  
**


	2. Kenny has a Death Wish

**Disclaimer: **For those of you who are scatterbrained like _moi_, I have already disclaimed my any chance of ownership for this story, but here it is again. I do not own South Park. You should know this by now however, because if I did own it, South Park would suck ass and go bankrupt. And in revenge Cartman would probably make me into chilly, which is not a prospect I look forward too.

**A Quick Thanks:** I would just like to briefly thank all the people who either favorited, alerted, or review the story. The fact that other people besides my friends (who forced me to post this, those bastards) are reading this. Enough rambling, here's chapter two!

* * *

**Butters' POV:**

"What's so bad about Kenny comin' here?" I asked Token.

We were all gathered in the Black family 'living room' (some living room, it could fit about nine of mine!) at six o'clock, and I was confused as heck. Stan, Eric, and Kenny weren't due to come for another hour or so, but for some odd reason Token wanted the rest of us here at six. Weirder still we couldn't tell the three boys that were presently absent either.

"Are you really this retarded Butters?" asked Clyde incredulously.

"And you're just now realizing this?" Craig retorted.

The rest of the gang just rolled their eyes. "We all know why---well most of us, anyway---" Token amended, shooting me a wary glance, "we're here. Kenny has broken a very ancient taboo that we have kept for the past four years: not mentioning the k-word."

Everyone nodded solemnly except for me, "What's the k-word?"

"It's Kyle dipshit." Craig said monotonously.

"Ohhh."

"Yeah. . .anyway, not only did Kenny mention Kyle, he went over and talked to him!"

"Well I still don't get why we can't be friends with Kyle now too. He's really nice to me durin' English class if we're paired up." I mumbled stubbornly.

Tweek twitched a bit and let out a yelp.

"Butters, we've been over this a thousand times. We chose Stan's side all those years ago and there's no going back now." Token stated exasperatedly. "What _I'd_ like to know is why Kenny decided to break that rule. Sure it went unspoken, but everyone knows it."

"Almost everyone." Craig said in a bored manner, cocking his head in my direction. Hmm, I wonder why. . .?

"Gah! What are we going to do?! Stan and Kenny are probably going to disembowel each other and---"

"No one's disemboweling anyone Tweek." Craig sighed loudly, rolling his eyes.

"Still, someone's going to need to keep Stan and Kenny occupied and far away from each other. . .and Cartman. Cartman would just love the chance to ruin another friendship, and not all of us come back once we're dead." Clyde added.

"Okay it's settled then." Token declared. "Me and Clyde will distract Stan. Craig and Tweek, you can help us but for _the love of god_ keep an eye out on Cartman at ALL times. Butters, you're in charge of keeping Kenny busy and out of awkward situations with Stan." he ordered.

"Well, alrighty then, but I still think Stan justs needs to learn a lesson in sharin' and respectin' other people's feelins'." I replied sullenly.

* * *

It was a given fact that parties would have alcohol, but that still didn't mean I had to make people drink it.

At least that's what I thought before Kenny arrived and I made my move to distract him. And it turned out that the only true way to distract Kenny was to get him drunk, a prospect I wasn't too thrilled about. There was the obvious fact that a) alcohol displeased me, but then there was also factor b): guilt. But I think Kenny suspected what I was up to, because before I could offer him a beer he patted me on the back and said, "Don't worry Butters, I'm a big boy. I'll get myself drunk on my own."

And he kept true to his word. In under one hour he was drunker than an alcoholic at a vodka convention. The sight of seeing my good friend so _vulnerable _was sickening to me. I could feel the bile escalating up my throat as Kenny waved good bye to the other guys and pulled me good-naturedly into one of Token's many sitting rooms. We were alone, and it appeared that there was something he wanted to say.

When someone first looked at Kenny, I think the first thing they noticed was his aura. I knew it was the first thing _I_ noticed. How else could you describe the essence of Kenny? He just seemed to radiate some kind of good feelings that made me at least feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Then after you looked past his positive attitude you hit his eyes. Those eyes were bluer than the sky and my eyes combined. While my eyes had a greenish side to them his were such a perfect blue, and they seemed to have their own little secret smile to them. Like they knew something you didn't. Yep, Kenny sure was handsome, but then again so were most of my friends.

"Hey Butters, how's Kyle been?" he asked me, his words slurring dramatically.

I scrunched up my face in thought. "Gee Kenny, I guess he's doin' alright. I haven't been at their table in a little while, but he seems happy enough. But not like before, you know what I mean?"

He shook his head.

Sighing, I tried to think of a better way to describe it. "It's just that before when he was with you guys, he was always so lively and animated. Now though he's sort of that, it's just kind of like he's lost his luster. Ya know, like someone forgot him on a shelf and he needs a good dustin' off."

Kenny looked at me sadly. "He needs Stan, Butters. But he'll never admit it. Kyle's too stubborn. He wouldn't admit it then, and he won't admit it now."

It was now my turn to be confused. "What do you mean he wouldn't admit it then Kenny?"

A sigh escaped Kenny's lips. Embarrassedly he let out a loud belch before he answered, "Can't tell ya. I promised Kyle that the events that took place on February 1, three and a half years ago, would never be breathed from my lips. If you really want to know what I mean, go ask Kyle yourself. We McKormick's may be good for nothing drunks, but we keep our end of the bargains."

Nonchalantly, I nodded along as if I understood what he had just said, although in all honesty I was quite confused. However just as I was about to question him more, Kenny passed out on the couch and I had to go leave to get one of the guys to help me wake him up. Because everyone knew that Kenny was not a happy camper when he was awoken. Why he could probably give Kyle's mom a run for her money if she saw his wakenin' temper.

* * *

I decided that the only way to find out the truth about what really happened that night would be to do what Kenny said and talk to Kyle himself. So when lunch rolled around the next day I walked over to Kyle's table and sat down cheerfully. All the girls welcomed me unsuspecting of my true motives because it was not uncommon that I would stop by during lunch. Well, all except Mercedes, who eyed me rather thoughtfully. Not even Kyle himself noticed something wrong, that is until I asked him if we could talk in private.

"Yes Butters?" he asked tiredly once we were out in the halls.

"I want to know what happened on the night of February 1, three and a half years ago." I demanded sounding much more confident than I actually was.

Kyle cursed under his breath, "Goddammit! Let me guess: Kenny was drunk and he told you this?"

"Well yeah, but how'd you know it was Kenny who told me?"

Kyle sighed, "Because he's the only other person who knows something even _happened_ that night."

"Oh. But he wouldn't tell me what happened. All he said was he'd kept up his end of the bargain and that if I wanted to know more I'd have to ask you." I admitted sheepishly.

"Might as well tell you, but you can't tell anyone else, okay? Kenny is the only other living soul who knows. . .well remembers. . .what happened on the events of that night. Why he thinks you can help I don't know, but Kenny always was good at this kind of shit." Kyle ran his fingers through his hair before continuing.

"See, I have a little bit of insomnia and it causes me to stay up later than most people. Most nights I can handle it by reading myself to sleep, drinking warm milk, watching TV, well you get the idea. But sometimes if it's really bad than I'll go outside and take a short walk around town. That's what I decided to do on February 1; take a short walk to Starks Pond." Kyle paused here in his story while his eyes stared off into space, remembering a moment where something---whether terrible or wonderful---took place.

"It was snowing really hard that day, and I remember wondering why the hell I was even going through with my walk. And then I reached Starks Pond and I saw a body I'd recognize anywhere laying down in the snow: Stan's."

"What was Stan doin' layin' down there in the snow like that?" I mused.

Kyle shrugged. " I don't know because I never asked."

"Huh---?"

"Let me just finish the story, kay?" he replied. I nodded for him to continue. "I wanted to just leave him, it seemed like karma that the stupid fucker got what he deserved. But I'm not that kind of person." Kyle looked at me pained, and I nodded in understanding. I could see what Kyle was trying to tell me because I was that way too. No matter how many times I told myself someone didn't deserve my help, I couldn't abandon them, just like Kyle couldn't abandon Stan even after he'd backstabbed him. At least I think that's what happened. "So I went over to check for his vitals; he was still breathing, he just needed to get somewhere warm and fast. Even though I didn't have much upper-body strength I still managed to sort of half-drag, half-carry Stan all the way to Kenny's, which was the nearest place. Then I went around the back, tapped on his window, and told him all that had happened."

"And then?"

"And then Kenny asked me, 'Why? I thought you hate him?'."

"What did you say back?" I questioned softly.

Kyle gave me a tired smile, "I told him, 'Because I don't hate him, I just wish I did.' After I said that I made Kenny promise me that if he had any respect left for the kind of bond we used to have, than he wouldn't tell Stan it was me that found him and just make up some bullshit that Stan had stumbled into his home half-dead." He gave a bitter laugh. "I guess Kenny really did respect what we once had because Stan bought his whole lie. I haven't seen either of them up close since."

I gave a comforting pat on the shoulder. "It's okay Kyle, I know just how you feel. Why, I wish I wasn't so darn nice all the time 'cause I do nice things for people like Eric who bring me trouble. And my parents tell me, 'Butters you have to stop being such a p-pussy.' But I can't help it 'cause it's my nature."

For the first time since I'd pulled him out into the hall, Kyle gave me a genuine smile. "Thanks Butters. Just please don't tell anyone, especially Stan."

"Of course I won't! But, I can't help but wonderin' why you don't want Stan to know?"

"Because I want to hate him." Kyle replied. "And I can't have him knowing that I no matter how hard I try, I'll never be able too. That first year he was gone I spent so many nights wishing I could just despise him for the rest of my life." His voice cracked a bit. "But I couldn't Butters! No matter how goddamn hard I tried I still always couldn't. . ."

"I know Kyle. I could never fully hate some of the people that wronged me too." I confided, and together we stood there in the silence of the other's misery.

* * *

I walked back sullenly to my own table and plopped down huffily besides Kenny. Everyone's eyes were on me; it was a well-known fact that I never came directly from sitting at Kyle's table back to our table. That way I wasn't breaking the taboo because it wasn't as if Stan was worried about where someone like me was. Then again I didn't really see how it mattered since according to the other guys, and I quote, 'the shit has hit the fan so many times it's amazing we still aren't all royally screwed yet by the wrath of Stan'. Of course I had no idea what the heck that meant, so Craig had to translate for me. Apparently things couldn't really get any worse.

"So?" Kenny prompted breaking the silence.

"Yeah he told me the whole story. And I think it's pretty darn rotten that he wants you to keep that kind of promise." I mumbled back.

Now everyone's eyes bored holes into me wondering what the heck was going on. We'd managed to keep Kenny, Stan, and Eric on separate ends of the table, but it seemed my arrival would be disturbing the carefully balanced peace they'd been able to attain while I was gone.

"What promise did Kenneh make to the jew-fag?" Eric interrupted.

"Cartman shut up." Token seethed through gritted teeth. We all knew he was just trying to stir the pot.

"You made a promise with _him_!" Stan exclaimed in shock. The whole table fell into a heated silence.

Kenny shrugged. "Yeah for like the past three fucking years, what's the big deal? Jesus Stan, it wasn't like I even hung out with him, I just agreed to something."

Making an aggravated sound, Stan began to furiously shovel food into his mouth, and an incredibly awkward silence followed.

Finally I couldn't take the angry tension anymore. "Well I'm sick and tired of all this avoidn' Kyle!" Now everyone's eyes turned back to me in shock. "Yeah you heard me: I said his name. And you know what else? I think you're all just scared that Kyle's gonna hate you for somethn' that happened four years ago. Sure what you guys did was pretty nasty, but not tryin' to make up for it now is even worse. So u-uh, me and Kenny are going to go sit at our own table, right Kenny?"

"We are? Sweet!" Kenny cheered.

"Y-yeah. And when you guys stop actin' like a bunch of. . .of. . .assholes---yeah I said a dirty word! Then you can come and join us. I'll see you fellas around maybe." Defiantly, I picked up my tray and walked over to one of the empty tables. Kenny followed me bemusedly and we sat down together to eat.

The first few minutes we spent were in silence, before I finally asked him some of the questions that plagued me.

"Kenny. . .why was Stan out in the cold that night?" I asked quietly.

"Honestly Butters, I don't know. When he woke up and I told him that for some reason he'd came to my place in the middle of night all feverish and shit, he told me he didn't remember why he was even out in the first place. But there was something so hesitant about the way he spoke to me that I think he was lying." Kenny replied earnestly. "So whatever the reason it was obviously one he didn't want anyone knowing."

"Oh. D-do you think Stan hates Kyle?"

"No. Then again I don't really know _what_ he thinks of Kyle, he never mentions him. Stan's always so guarded now, you know? Like he's afraid he'll let something slip if he doesn't always have his defenses up. And in my whole lifetime I've ever known only one person who could ever make Stan let down his guard. . ."

"Kyle?"

"Yep." Kenny then laughed mirthlessly. "But I doubt he'd be much of a big help now."

I could see the regret that swam up in his eyes. Kenny partially blamed himself for what had happened. But it was all Eric's fault really. As comforting as I could manage I patted his hand gently. "It's okay Kenny. I'm sure the other guys will come to their senses eventually, and then we can all be Kyle's friends again." I then frowned. "Well except for Eric. I don't think Kyle liked him very much even before the whole incident wi-with Stan."

He sighed, and gave me a tight smile, "Sure we can Butters, whatever you say."

**Bebe's POV:**

Okay, what the hell did everybody want with Kyle?

First it was the amazingly gorgeous Kenny, and now 'oh shucks, gee whiz I'm really sorry' Butters came and talked to him. Worst, Kyle wouldn't tell _me_! I totally understood not telling Wendy because---no offense, I mean I loved the girl to death---but she could be a bit of an overbearing bitch at times. But not me! Come on, I didn't tell people's secrets. True I loved to gossip, but I respected Ky's secrets at least. His friendship actually meant something to me. And now he was having some kind of 'secret talks' from people from his past and he comes back either pissed off or depressed! I wanted to know what the hell was going on!

Kyle sat back down slowly, but Butters just picked up his tray and waltzed back to his table with an expression mixed with satisfaction and sadness. I turned my gaze back to Kyle who was stabbing at his food rather dejectedly.

"So Bebe, what do you think of me going after Clyde?" Millie mused, looking up to me for advice. Apparently in the last couple of years I had become a dating guru just because when it came to blondes I was a slut. Hey, leave me in a room with a brunette, red-head, or guy with beautiful black locks and I'd be able to contain my hormones. Put a blonde in there and boom! Bebe joygasm.

I waved her off. "Not now Millie, something is seriously stuck up Kyle's ass, and it's not your raging sexual tension for Clyde." She frowned at me and went off to talk to Anne at the other end of the table, but I was already forgetting about her.

"Kyle what the fuck is going on?" I demanded.

Wendy shot me a 'be nice' look, and turned back to Kyle sympathetically. "Bebe's sort of right Ky. Something's up. I mean, you haven't even gone back to reading your novel again." I raised one eyebrow. Kyle wasn't reading? Yep, something was screwy alright, and it wasn't me. (For once)

Kyle just gave us a look that clearly stated: leave me the hell alone. Unfortunately for him, that wasn't an option.

"We're not dropping the subject, so spill Ky!" I hissed.

Glaring at me he stood up and threw out his still full tray before coming back to grab his stuff. "Shove off." Kyle snarled, and then he strode out of the cafeteria.

"Nice going Bee." Wendy moaned. I could tell she wanted to follow him, but that probably would be detrimental (damn Wendy and her obsession with teaching us all SAT level vocabulary) to our cause. All the girls watched Kyle's departure worriedly, but then (luckily) before they could question me, the bell rang. Immediately I stood up and hurried my ass out of there to Spanish class.

Foreign languages had never been my thing, but Spanish was an easy A. The teacher taught the same lessons every year, so I could easily drift off and wonder what Kenny and Butters could've said to set Kyle off like that. Wendy had told me that Kenny had tried to apologize to him, but what about Butters? As far as I knew, Kyle held no grudges against him, and besides, today he appeared more sad and reminiscent than angry---

"_¿Srta. Stevens, cómo es usted que siente?_" Señora Douglas growled.

Racking my brain, I came up with the third most common response that was used, "_Estoy sintiendo muy bueno hoy._"

"_¡Sí! Srta. Stevens bien hecho._" she gushed at me before moving on to her next victim. I breathed a sigh of relief and was about to go back to spacing out when I overheard Kyle's name. Narrowing my eyes I tuned in to the exchange going on between the two boys behind me: Token and Clyde.

"Butters is breaking the taboo with Kenny, there's nothing we can do!" Token hissed.

"Did you see how fucking pissed Stan is? They're at their own table because we never acknowledge Kyle when Stan's around, and you know Stan's feeling betrayed!" Clyde whispered back.

Kenny and Butters formed their own table?!

"I know. It's like four years ago all over again. Somehow though I doubt this will blow over, but we can still hope. Who knows, maybe Stan will lighten up a bit. I mean he did allow Butters and Kyle to talk before." Token replied uneasily.

"Yeah, but that's only because it's _Butters._ He never realizes that he's talking to a social pariah! Stan understands that which is why he tolerates it, but Kenny on the other hand, well he can be held to his actions. He's not getting forgiven any time soon." Clyde countered.

Holy shit! This was BIG news! As the bell rang and everyone filed out for Study hall, I raced out into the hallway and over to Wendy before dragging her into an empty corridor.

"Bee, what the hell? I didn't finish talking to the French teacher!" she complained.

"That's not important right now Wends, because you will never guess what I just overheard." I smirked.

Wendy just rolled her eyes, "What have I told you about eavesdropping?"

"That it's wrong and blah, blah, blah! But this is about Ky!" I protested.

A smug grin crossed my face as I saw Wendy's turmoil of moral conscious versus concern for Kyle. "All right, fine. I'm all ears." she huffed.

So I told her, and I was right. She never would have guessed.

* * *

"Sorry Kyle, we can't hang out tonight. Bee and I have a project." Wendy lied flawlessly.

The three of us were walking home (Kyle having cooled off by now) and Wendy and I were canceling our normal plans with Kyle. It was obvious he didn't believe us, but he nodded anyway in understanding, and made the separate turn to his house. We were silent the rest of the way to Wendy's and I couldn't help but feel a bit guilty. Sure what we were going to do was for Ky's own good, but we were still going behind his back. I could tell Wendy felt the same thing as me as we entered her house because of the pained look that was etched across her face.

"Wends. . .you know this is the right thing to do. For all we know Ky could be keeping a life-threatening secret!" I said in a placating manner,

Wendy just flopped down on her couch. "It doesn't matter Bebe. We're still trying to form a plan to interrogate Kyle, and that's wrong!" she wailed.

Rolling my eyes, I placed my hands on my hips. "Oh and I'm the melodramatic one? Seriously Wendy, you need to get a grip on yourself so we can figure out what to do about Kyle." Before I could press my point further, Wendy's cell-phone range, and she answered it gratefully.

"Hey K---_WHAT_?! Slow down, I can't---okay, we're coming!" she then hung up quickly, her face whiter than a sheet. "That was Kyle, we need to go."

"What's wrong?" I asked fearfully.

"It's his Dad and. . .well he's been in a car accident." Wendy answered.

"What?! Who's the asshole that---"

"They don't know who side-swiped them, but they do know that Mr. Broflovski wasn't the only one injured." she whispered.

My heart sunk, "Who else?"

Wendy bit her lip before grabbing her mother's car keys (Mrs. Testaburger was at a book club meeting) and began to head out the door.

"Who else Wendy?!" I shouted.

Slowly she turned to face me, "The person who was driving the car Mr. B was in."

"What's their name?" I prompted worried.

Closing her eyes, Wendy answered. Oh. Fuck.

**Kenny's POV: (After lunch; earlier that day)**

I decided that with all the recent developments that had occurred, skipping French class was not an option: it was a necessity. However Butters deciding to skip Latin class for me was a pleasant (and welcome) surprise. Just the thought of the little blonde near me made my heart soar. Of course being Butters, not only was he obtuse to this, but he didn't start second-guessing our plan until we were walking out behind the school.

"Gee Kenny, are you sure this is a good idea?" he asked, rubbing his knuckles together.

Smiling bemusedly I answered him, "You don't have to come if you don't want to. I'm just going to bum a cigarette off the Goth kids, and then we can do whatever you want."

The Goth kids were the school cigarette supplier. While other people had to pay for them, the Goth kids gave them to me for free because I could tell them stories about death. (Apparently dying all the time and coming back to life was VERY non-conformist) Other than selling smokes, the Goth kids hadn't really changed. There was Curls: the tallest Goth who was held back a year or two, Henrietta: the fat but hilarious girl, Flippy Kid: who had a red streak going through his hair, and Kindergoth: (who really wasn't a kindergartner anymore) the youngest out of all of them who skipped second grade because his teacher couldn't handle him. However when it came down to it, Flippy Kid was their undisputed leader, main cigarette dealer, and probably the most hardcore out of all of them.

Butters had never really met the Goth kids, (not counting that Vampire incident back in fourth grade or when he had a brief exchange with them near Raisins) but I knew that as long as he kept his mouth shut and stayed near me, he _should_ be fine. I explained this all to him as we rounded the final building corner and came upon the Goths.

"Kenny." Henrietta greeted tonelessly, blowing out cigarette smoke.

"Hey guys---oh, this is my friend Butters. Butters, Goth kids." I replied equally bored. Wordlessly Flippy passed me a smoke and a lighter to borrow. Once I'd lit up, Flippy eyed me warily.

"Heard you formed your own table McKormick. That's sick." Flippy stated.

Butters opened his mouth in shock, "How'd you---"

I rolled my eyes, "Butters, the Goths are gossip whores." Which was basically true. They didn't discuss the gossip usually, but they kind of blended into the background. And when you were invisible, you saw and heard a lot of things. Basically these guys had dirt on everybody---which gave me an idea. "Hey, what do you guys know about Kyle Broflovski?"

Henrietta snorted, "You mean one of the few guys this school has to offer that we respect? Not much."

This called for an eyebrow raising moment. They respected Kyle?

Kindergoth stared at the ground while Curls answered my unspoken question, "We respect Broflovski because he notices us, meaning that we don't know any of his secrets. Unlike the rest of the wannabe douchebag population, he doesn't blab them in front of us."

"Well. . .except that one little thing we know." Henrietta smirked.

"What?" I demanded anxiously.

"As we said before, we don't know any of his secrets. But Broflovski only ever made one slip-up, unintentionally allowing us to figure out who he _did_ tell all his secrets to." she continued.

"Who's that?" I questioned.

Now Flippy gave me a wide smile, "Ze Mole."

* * *

"Kenny, slow down!" Butters yelped as I ran towards the side exit. I couldn't slow down though. Not if I wanted to reach the place the Goth kids swore Christophe hung out at, and I had to get there before the bell rang. After lunch there was only one more period of the day for the seniors (and a long ass period at that) until school was let out for good. So really I only had that one opportunity to confront Christophe outside of French class.

"BRIIING!!!!!!"

Quickly I skidded to a halt as Butters caught up with me panting. The school building was emptying out, but if my Goth friends were right (and the bastards usually were) Christophe and his best friend Gregory would be exiting the side door at any moment.

A few minutes passed before I actually saw them. Gregory and Christophe were both loners, albeit Gregory being the nicer, civil one. He was the school treasurer and the second smartest kid in the grade. (Kyle being the first) Christophe on the other hand was a force to be reckoned with. Nobody messed with him, and very few people even knew his real name, because no one ever dared to call him by it unless they had a death wish.

Christophe noticed us first, and scowled before walking towards us with Gregory. "What?" he sneered.

Butters rubbed his knuckles together fervently while I tried to play it cool. "We need to talk to you about Kyle."

His expression instantly deepened. "Gregory, wait for me by ze car. Zis will only take a minute."

Gregory nodded reluctantly before walking off to wherever they parked. Lighting up a cigarette, Christophe spoke. "I cannot zell you much yet since you 'ave yet zo become friends wit Kyle, non?"

"Well can you at least tell us one thing for now?" I pleaded.

Christophe looked thoughtful for a moment before he responded. "'E lies zo people when it concerns you, ze obnoxious fat one, and Stan. For example, 'e lied zo blondie over 'ere zis morning when 'e said no one else but Kenny knew about February 1, because 'e told _moi_ as well."

"How do you know he's not lying to you?" Butters pondered.

"E 'as no reason zo lie zo me." Christophe shrugged. "Look, when ze time is right I will come and zell you boys what I know. But until zen, you will 'ave to be patient."

I sighed in frustration. "Why?"

Letting out an annoyed grumble, Christophe began to explain. "Because Kyle would attempt zo kick my ass if 'e knew zat I was 'fraternizing wit ze enemy.'"

"Butters and I are the enemy?" I asked skeptically.

Momentarily a slight twinkle entered his eye. "One could say zat. You could also say zat you zwo are zoo observant for your own good and Kyle does not want you zo figure anyzing out."

Cocking one eye brow, I eyed Christophe carefully. "Since when has Kyle ever had any secrets that big?"

"Well maybe Kyle just likes his privacy. Why my dad always says, 'Butters now you need to respect other people's privacies! Like when your father needs to release his special urges with other men you have to stay quiet and not tell mommy, got it?'"

There was an incredibly awkward silence as Christophe and I both stared at Butters rather uncomfortably.

Seeming to realize his folly, Butters moaned. "Oh gee, I said something inappropriate for a social conversation again, didn't I Kenny?"

Before I could respond, Christophe's cell-phone rang and he sighed dramatically before answering it with obvious anger. "What?" he snapped. A few seconds passed before his expression softened a bit. "Oh, I see. Damnit, does zis stuff 'appen often zo you? _Oui_, I shall be zhere momentarily---and don't do anyzing stupid _mon ami_." Releasing a slight growl he turned to us and muttered, "I must go, but believe me when I say you shall be seeing me soon." Christophe then turned and walked off to his car and opened the car door before speeding out of the parking lot with Gregory in the passenger seat.

"What the heck was that about Kenny?" Butters questioned confused.

"I have no fucking idea." I replied to him honestly. Sighing I tried to shove all thoughts of kissing the blonde out of mind and to focus on the task at hand. "C'mon, let's go back to my place and try to figure out our next move."

Butters gave me a huge smile. "All righty then Kenny, if you say so." We began to walk together in an almost silence (Butters was whistling cheerfully) when we---or rather _my body_---stumbled upon Tweek. The caffeinated teen was twitching more than usual---I swore to God he was on hyper-speed---and he looked rather freaked out. Eyes widening like Bambi's just before his mother was killed, Tweek began to screech out what was wrong.

"Ahh! You guys, you guys! Gah! Craig, ergh, needs you to go to the hospital! He said that even though you're-ngh- fighting with Stan you, gah!, need to be there!" he screamed, fidgeting nervously.

"Why?" I asked warily. Suffice it to say that Tweek was an easy person to prank, and though Craig usually watched out for the twitchy blonde, sometimes even he was prone to pulling small pranks on Tweek in order to just piss off the rest of the fucking population. 'Cause when Tweek Tweak swore something was wrong, you were coming along with him to solve (or run even farther away from) the problem whether you liked to or not.

"Because, ergh, Stan's Dad and. . .another guy were in the same car when a semi hit them! Gah!"

"A truck?! Oh hamburgers!" Butters cried.

Yet I didn't speak, for I had noticed an almost hesitant pause in Tweek's tale. "Who was the other guy?" I demanded.

Tweek twitched nervously before he replied.

"Kyle's Dad."

This day just kept getting even more fucking better.

* * *

**Author's Note: **Sorry if I'm making Bebe out to seem like such a slut, she's not really. Well except maybe a mind slut, but who isn't these days? xD And she is only a slut for blondes, but hey, us blondes are smexy. Anyway, I hope I didn't bore anyone too much when I got into the whole 'philosophical' shit about how Kyle regards Stan, but I'm just lame like that. I know, I saw an opportunity to provide insight and I took the plunge. God I've been getting in touch too much with my inner-psychology side lately. Now regarding Christophe's accent, I know he pronounces 'what' as 'wat' but if I made any more grammatically incorrect mistakes, I think my spell-check would have exploded. -.-" So. . .yeah, sorry about that. On one last note, you're going to have to wait for the _next_ chapter in order for Kenny, Butters, and the other kids to start noticing that Kyle and Stan are liars. Anyway, thanks for reading!

**Translations: **(Sorry if they don't come out quite right because I had to use a translator)

**¿Srta. Stevens, cómo es usted que siente? . . . . . . ** _Miss Stevens, how are you feeling?_

**Señora . . . . . . ** _Mrs._

**Estoy sintiendo muy bueno hoy . . . . . . ** _I am feeling very good today_

**¡Sí! Srta. Stevens bien hecho . . . . . . ** _Yes! Well done Miss Stevens_

**moi . . . . . . **_me_

**Oui . . . . . . **_Yes_

**mon ami . . . . . . **_my friend_


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